Today, we present a collection of digital artefacts that have been attracting our attention for some time: the NFT Ordinal Tulips.

Limited to 100 copies, these pixelated tulip images are all listed in the first 10,000 entries (between entries 5478 and 9230) on the Bitcoin blockchain.

It is thereforeone of the rare Ordinals “sub10k” collections. But it is also a direct reference to an historic economic episode: Dutch tulipomania .

History lesson: Dutch tulipomania

In the 17th century, the Netherlands experienced an astonishing speculative bubble known as “tulipomania”.tulipomania“. Tulips, exotic and rare at the time, saw their prices soar to dizzying heights. Tulip bulbs were traded at prices sometimes equivalent to houses or land. Then, in 1637, the market suddenly collapsed, leaving many investors ruined.

This episode is often cited as a classic example of an economic bubble, where asset prices rise irrationally before collapsing.

As it turns out, this episode didn’t really happen. At least not on the scale generally described by economists. In fact, there’s a “Tulip Prize” awarded ironically by Jacques Favier to economists who clumsily use this historical reference.

Bitcoin and Tulips: an erroneous comparison

Bitcoin has often been compared by economists to the tulip bubble. They point to the extreme price fluctuations and speculative frenzy surrounding crypto-currencies to support this comparison. They also argue that, like tulips, Bitcoin has no intrinsic value.

This analogy is largely erroneous for several reasons:

• Unlike tulips, Bitcoin is based on a technology that offers real-life use cases and intrinsic value as a secure, decentralized network.
• What’s more, Bitcoin has shown remarkable resilience and increasing adoption over the years, making it a far more durable and solid digital asset than tulips.
• Finally, there is a limited number of bitcoins, whereas tulips can be reproduced ad infinitum.

Ordinal Tulips: irony engraved in blockchain

The Ordinal Tulips collection plays on this historical comparison to offer an ironic and thoughtful perspective on the perception of Bitcoin.

By immutably inscribing these digital tulips on Bitcoin, the creators of this collection highlight the contrast between Bitcoin’s speculative bubble and its robustness.

Forever among the first 10,000 entries on the Bitcoin blockchain, these tulips are a nod to tulipomania, but also a symbol of the evolution of markets and technology.

It can also be seen as a poetic Bitcoin that makes ephemeral flowers eternal.

Visual analysis of the collection

Each piece in the collection is a simple pixel composition that recreates a potted tulip. The retro aesthetic recalls early video games and nascent digital art. The colors – mainly shades of brown and green – are earthy, but some tulips display brighter colors, yellows and reds, contrasting with the other tulips in the collection.

Conclusion

Ordinals Tulips is a historic NFT collection. It was one of the first collections listed on Bitcoin.

She invites us to reflect on the history and evolution of financial markets up to the advent of Bitcoin.

Contact us if you would like to buy a tulip on bitcoin.